2016: A Spanish Businessman Published Photos of Supermarkets in Caracas

Agustin Otxotorena, a Spanish executive living in Caracas grew tired of constant calls from friends and relatives in Spain telling him that there was no food in Venezuela and asking him whether an immediate foreign intervention was necessary to bring in humanitarian aid. On May 20, 2016 he began publishing photos on Facebook of supermarkets in upscale sectors of Caracas filled with goods to contrast them with the frequent photos in Spain’s media which showed empty supermarkets.[1]

The Alba Ciudad website, which replicated his posts, garnered 340,000 hits in one week and LaTabla website garnered hundreds of thousands more [2]. The Spanish newspaper ABC replicated Otxotorena’s photos in an article titled “The Basque Businessman who shows how the rich actually have food in Venezuela” but deleted the article and photos since they contradicted the dominant narrative that the newspaper had been publishing. [2] The U.S. mainstream media did not publish any articles about his photos.

1.     Rich Eating well in Venezuela, Basque Executive Shows, Venezuelanalysis, June 1, 2016

2.     Alba ciudad, This Friday, Agustin Otxotorena will talk about how he confronted fascism in Spain by Spreading the Word about what’s really happening in Venezuela, May29, 2019.

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